Packings or sealing systems, also called rubber bellows, are frequently used in the area of chassis engineering. They are located, e.g., in the area of ball and socket joints or drive axles. The packings or rubber bellows have the function of a seal, which separate the inner functional area of, e.g., a ball and socket joint, from outside effects during both rotary movements and tilting movements. As a result, additional wear, e.g., in the form of friction and corrosion, is avoided. The edges of the bellows are usually provided with additional straining rings, which apply pressure to the mostly metallic components, e.g., the housing of a ball and socket joint or a pivot, so that the sealing bellows is secured against slipping off in the axial direction. These sealing bellows or packings usually also have additional collars projecting inwardly in the radial direction, which extend behind projections on the components and thus ensure an additional axial fixation in addition to the straining ring. Such sealing bellows of this class for ball and socket joints are known from DE-OS 1 575 708, DE-OS 1 168 717 as well as DE-PS 925 328.
The drawback of the sealing bellows or packings of this kind is that an additional straining ring is always needed for the secure axial fixation of the sealing bellows, so that not only are additional parts needed, but the assembly effort is also relatively high as a result.